Cheap Headsets?

[nedntrish]

I don'd have a lot of money but would like to get a couple of head sets for my wing. I was looking a DIY project but then it occured to me, has anybody tried useing a gamers headset, say xbox, and wired it to the intercome system? I can get one of those for under $10!

[tallman21]

that might works its only that those mics are super sensitive so im sure the feedback going through would be awful!

[WingAdmin]

The main reason that won't work is that the Goldwing microphones are DYNAMIC - they're very old technology, where the resistance is varied depending on the sound input. One of the main problems with dynamic mics is that they are rather large - they have to be, because they need to contain a diaphragm, coil and magnet.

Virtually every microphone made nowadays are condensor mics. These microphones can be made extremely small, because there are almost no parts inside them - just a couple of plates. As the plates get closer and farther away from one another due to the sound vibrations, their capacitance changes. Condensor mics require a power source in order to function.

A circuit can be designed and inserted that will make the cheap condensor mic in your cheap gaming headset appear to be (and operate like) a dynamic mic - but it requires a very clean power supply (which doesn't really exist on a Goldwing), so a very well-filtered power supply will have to be designed as well - and now your cheap headset isn't so cheap anymore.

[nedntrish]

Thanks for your help!

All that makes sense. However I'm not so sure that the cheep headset is a condensor mic because there are only three wires: ground, mic, and earphone. Where would the power come from?

But i noticed that on the goldwing there is "positive" and a "negitive" for both the mic and earphone instead of a common ground like with the headset. So how will that work? Can the grounds on the goldwing be made common? Or do i need to completely rewire the headset?

I guess the only way to find out is to hook it up and see but I'm afraid of damaging the intercom on the bike.

[WingAdmin]

All that makes sense. However I'm not so sure that the cheep headset is a condensor mic because there are only three wires: ground, mic, and earphone. Where would the power come from?

Good question. They do it by "biasing" the mic. The preamp sends a few volts (usually about 5) DC between the mic and ground lines. The condensor mic capsule uses this to power itself. The preamp then puts the mic line through a capacitor, which blocks the DC bias voltage, but passes the modulated audio signal from the mic, and feeds that to the amplifier stage. This technique is commonly called "phantom power", in PA it's quite common, and the bias voltage is 48VDC.

But i noticed that on the goldwing there is "positive" and a "negitive" for both the mic and earphone instead of a common ground like with the headset. So how will that work? Can the grounds on the goldwing be made common? Or do i need to completely rewire the headset?

I guess the only way to find out is to hook it up and see but I'm afraid of damaging the intercom on the bike.

The Goldwing has two grounds in the headset cable, one for the headset and one for the mic. However, you can safely connect the two together - they go to the same place (I have tried this, and my Bluetooth module that I designed actually does this). It won't damage anything.

Oh, the other thing I didn't mention is that the output from a condensor mic is much much smaller than the output from a dynamic mic. You'll need a preamp to boost it up to a level that the Goldwing's systems will be expecting to hear.

[nedntrish]

Thanks. I guess i won't go threw the trouble now.